Surrogate mom gifts child to Australian couple

Melbourne-based Kate and Ian are all smiles as they hold their baby son in their arms. They're far from home though - their dream to complete the family with a second child has been realised in Ahmedabad, thanks to the efforts of city-based Dr Manish Banker.

Kate's uterus had to be removed after complications in her first delivery. The couple approached Dr Banker of Pulse hospital in Ahmedabad for a surrogate mother, to have their second child. On May 8, their family was finally complete.

What makes the case unique is that not only did the couple get their second child with the help of a surrogate mother, but also that Kate's eggs were fertilised with Ian's sperms and the embryo was kept at -196 C in liquid nitrogen for a month, as the surrogate mother's uterus was not ready for the embryo to be transplanted.
Dr Pravin Patel and Dr Manish Banker, director of Pulse hospital for women, told media persons that it was in January last year that Ian's sperms were frozen and kept at the hospital. "The first time, the surrogate mother's pregnancy ended in a miscarriage in the third month. At that time, we had kept Ian's frozen sperms with the hospital and for the second round of the treatment, Kate could come alone," said Dr Patel.

Doctors said that the Australian couple's joy has been brought about by the collaboration between the Pulse hospital and 'Melbourne IVF', an IVF centre that puts Australian couples and doctors in mutual touch for less expensive surrogate motherhood in India.